


The Best Birthday Gift

by CaptainYou



Category: Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-19
Updated: 2016-09-19
Packaged: 2018-08-15 21:49:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8073955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainYou/pseuds/CaptainYou
Summary: Riko always hated celebrating her own birthday. To her, she was completely average and had even convinced her family at a young age to stop celebrating her birthday. However, when Aqours hears about this, Chika and You make sure to show Riko her self-worth and just how important she is to everyone.





	

Riko Sakurachi was never one to make a fuss about her birthday. In fact, every year when her mother asked her what she wanted, she would calmly shake her head and insist that she didn't need anything. To her, she was more than happy to simply enjoy the day as normal, as honestly, her birthday wasn't a big deal. After all, she was just an average and plain girl, it wasn't worth celebrating her birthday. She insisted this so much that her family eventually gave up, and every birthday all her family got for her was a small cake from the local bakery and that was it. She couldn't even remember the last time she had received a birthday present, or let alone had someone ask her what she wanted for her birthday. 

So she definitely did not know how to handle having 8 people all at once ask what she wanted for her birthday. 

"Good morning!" Riko exclaimed cheerfully, walking into the school idol club room the morning before her birthday. Riko stopped though when she realized that all the others girl were already there, sitting around the table and staring at her. Riko was usually one of the first people in the clubroom before morning practice. The girls must have noticed the confusion on the red-haired girl's face, as Chika stood up, looking right into Riko's eyes, expression unusually serious for Chika. 

"Riko-chan..." Chika began, her voice just as serious as the expression on her face. Riko gulped nervously. Had she done something wrong? Negative thoughts whirled in Riko's head as she tried to remember if she had done anything wrong in the past few days. 

Suddenly, Dia stood up, slamming her hand on the table, causing Riko to yelp in both surprise and fear.  
"  
Riko-san." Dia said sternly. 

Riko visibly started to panic, shaking as she stuttered out her words.

"Y.. yes?" 

Kanan, looking over at Riko, immediately stood up. Riko braced herself, however, Kanan shifted her gaze to Dia and Chika instead.

"You two cut it out. You're scaring her." Kanan scolded, walking over to hit both of them on the head.

Dia and Chika both yelped in pain, and began rubbing their heads.

"What was that for? We weren't trying to scare her. We were just concerned." Chika muttered, obvious pout on her face.

Riko tilted her head in confusion. "Concerned?" 

This time, You stood up, smiling calmly at Riko. 

"We were concerned because we just found out tomorrow is your birthday and you hadn't said anything to us about it." The second year explained, as the rest of the girls nodded their heads in agreement.

"My.. birthday?' Riko asked again. Riko had started to forget when her own birthday even was at this point, after all, what was the point in remembering when she was very adamant about not celebrating. 

"Yeah, so we came together early so we could ask you what you wanted." 

Riko's eyes grew wide in surprise. When had been the last time someone asked her what she wanted? 

"What.. I want..." Riko whispered to herself. Looking around, the rest of Aqours' eyes were focused on her, eagerly awaiting her answer. Riko sighed, closing her eyes and shaking her head.

"I don't want anything." 

The rest of the girls faces dropped.

"You... don't want anything?" Chika said, a hint of sadness in her voice.

Riko shook her head again, smiling gently.

"I.. I don't like celebrating my own birthday. It isn't a big deal, after all. Plus, we made it past the prelims! We have more important things to worry about right now. Please don't make a big deal over my birthday.   
I'm fine." Riko explained calmly. 

Riko could instantly feel the mood drop in the room. While the rest of the members remained silent, Riko could tell they were disappointed and even a little... sad? 

"Please don't be sad! I'm fine. Really! Now come on, let's go practice!" Riko encouraged, trying to lighten the mood. 

The rest of the girls took a second to look at each other before jumping up one by one, following Riko so they could change for their morning practice. Chika and You were the last ones in the room, both still   
looking at the spot where Riko had stood.

As You started walking to follow the already gone members, Chika spoke.

"You know, You-chan... Riko's mom called the inn last night." 

You stopped in her tracks, turning to face the orange-haired girl.

"She did?" You asked. Chika nodded her head, sadness filling her voice.

"And you know what she told me. She told me it was Riko's birthday soon, and she asked me to please make sure Riko has a good time. I guess her family doesn't celebrate it anymore." 

You's expression darkened. "They don't celebrate her birthday?!" she gasped in horror. 

Chika nodded sadly, continuing, "They don't. And apparently... she's never had friends to celebrate with either." 

"That's why... that's why we have to make sure Riko-chan has the best birthday ever!" Chika suddenly exploded, voice filled with determination.

You smiled warmly at her best friend, before saluting.

"Aye aye! Let's make sure Riko-chan has a birthday she will never forget!" 

The two girls clapped, and then ran off after the members to catch up, but not before Chika sent every member besides Riko a text to meet her and You at her inn to discuss what to do for Riko's birthday.

When Riko woke up the next morning, she knew exactly what to except. After all, today was just a normal, unimportant day. When she went downstairs for breakfast, her mother smiled and wished her the one and only happy birthday that she expected for the rest of the day. Riko smiled, thanking her mother as she sat down and began eating. While she ate, she noticed she had a text from Chika that she had missed the night before, asking Riko to come over to her house to meet with her and discuss lyrics for a new song. Riko smiled, it may not be a typical way to celebrate a birthday, but Riko couldn't think of anything better than spending time with Chika and coming up with lyrics together. She shot the girl a quick message confirming she would be there.

A few hours later, Riko made her to way to Chika's family inn. As she walked inside, both Chika's sisters greeted her.

To Riko's surprise, both sisters enthusiastically greeted her with a "Riko-chan, happy birthday!" 

Ah, leave it to Chika to tell her sisters that it was the red-haired girl's birthday.

Chika must have heard her sisters, as almost immediately the orange-haired girl appeared in the hallway, face red and a smile bright on her face.

"Riko-chan, happy birthday!" 

Riko smiled, slight blush appearing on her face. 

"Thank you, Chika-chan. So about the lyrics-" but before Riko could finish what she was going to say, Chika grabbed her hand and started pulling her out the door.

"Chika-chan?" Riko proclaimed in surprise, already halfway out the door due to Chika's pulling.

"Before we start writing, there is something on the beach I want you to see. I think it will really inspire you for your next song!" Chika quickly explained, before taking off full sprint to the beach.

Chika was right. As the girls made it to the beach, Riko forced Chika to a stop, as her mouth dropped and eyes widened in shock.

There on the beach, the members of Aqours were waiting, Yoshiko and Hanamaru holding up a sign that read "Happy birthday Riko" in bright, pink letters. In the middle was a beautiful cake, colored with pink frosting and a little cartoon of Riko and the rest of Aqours drawn on it. 

"You.. you guys.." Riko stammered weakly, Chika pushing her from behind to move closer to the cake. 

The girls all smiled as Riko was pushed in front of the cake. All in unison, the girls opened their mouths and began to sing.

_Happy birthday to you_

_Happy birthday to you_

_Happy birthday dear Riko-chan_

_Happy birthday to you_

As the girls finished their song, Riko looked down, tears welling up as she tried to control herself, but her emotions got the better of her as she began to let out sobs. After spending so much of her life believing she wasn't worth her own birthday, here she was, surrounded by the best friends who all had their eyes on her. 

Almost if on cue, Riko felt both her hands being filled, looking up, she saw both You and Chika standing on her sides, taking her hands into theirs. 

"Happy birthday, Riko-chan!" They both said happily, squeezing her hands warmly.

"It's your special day, so you better enjoy it!" Chika laughed, noticing the faint blush that appeared on Riko's face.

You joined in, "after all, you deserve it!" 

"I.. deserve it?"

"Of course." Dia spoke suddenly, "if it weren't for you, Aqours wouldn't be where it is today."

Yoshiko nodded in agreement, "everyone in Aqours is important, you know? Don't devalue yourself or think you're any less important than anyone else." 

Riko remained silent, trying to process their words before finally smiling herself, the tears stopping as she began to laugh to herself.

"Yeah... you're right." You and Chika felt Riko squeeze their hands affectionately, her face growing even redder.

"Now, come on, it's time to open your presents!" Chika jumped in excitement. 

As each girl gave Riko their gifts, Riko had finally realized her role in the group. She was just as important to the rest of Aqours as they were to her. She wasn't just an average girl who wasn't worth anything. She   
was important. She was loved. 

Riko smiled, as the tears threatened to come again. 

Finally, she knew and understood what it meant to have friends.

**Author's Note:**

> Just a short little thing I wrote for Riko's birthday. 
> 
> If you have a request/just want to follow me, I'm over at @captainyousoro on twitter.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
